Downtown district seeks property owners' renewal

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As downtown property owners evaluate a program that has put cleaning crews and safety escorts on Cleveland's streets, they're asking for more for their money -- in the form of new businesses and more bustle along Euclid Avenue.

Owners of office towers, apartment buildings and condominiums are considering whether to reauthorize a special improvement district designed to make downtown safer, cleaner and more appealing. The district, created in 2005 and set to expire at the end of next year, draws funding from and provides services to the area between West 10th Street to East 18th Street and bounded by Front Avenue to the north and Carnegie Avenue at the southern edge.

Property owners in the district collectively pay more than $3 million a year for services, including the yellow- and blue-clad ambassadors who patrol downtown streets, washing sidewalks, scraping up gum and helping motorists and pedestrians. The district provides roughly 60 percent of the budget for the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, a nonprofit group that tries to improve and market downtown.

Despite the sluggish economy, district participants generally seem willing to pay another five years worth of fees -- from 2011 to 2016. But 74 percent of 300-plus downtown property owners, workers and residents who responded to a recent online survey by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance asked for a greater emphasis on business development.

"I think a lot of people have commented on how clean downtown has become, how much safer they feel with the ambassadors on the bikes," said developer Ari Maron, whose family turned East Fourth Street into a restaurant and entertainment district. "But there are a number of tweaks that we decided we need to look at."

Maron is a member of the board of directors at the Downtown Cleveland Improvement Corp., a group of property owners that represents district shareholders. The group will hold a public meeting Tuesday to officially launch the reauthorization bid.

Property owners already have received details of the reauthorization plan, which includes several strategies to fill empty buildings and revive storefronts along the recently renovated Euclid corridor. If the district is renewed, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance plans to:

Create a business retention and recruitment program, to work with regional economic development groups, the city, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority and the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

Craft a sexier image for downtown office space, based on the proximity of downtown offices to professional sports arenas, restaurants and entertainment.

Ease the path for businesses that want to move or grow downtown. This could include working with local and state government to speed up the development review process and to find incentives for businesses.

Recruit businesses, particularly short-term tenants such as art galleries and start-up companies, to Euclid Avenue. The alliance is still loyal to its long-term Euclid retail plan, which includes bringing outlet stores to buildings between Public Square and PlayhouseSquare. But the group does not plan to sit idle until the economy recovers and retail improves.

"We know the revitalization is going to take a number of years," said Joe Marinucci, the alliance's president and chief executive officer.

These additional initiatives don't mean a bigger budget. The alliance considered the economy, worked with a consultant, and decided not to ask property owners to pay higher fees. Instead, the fees will adjust only 3 percent a year for inflation, and the alliance will look to outside funding sources, including the foundations that already provide part of its budget.

By the end of 2010, the district will have yielded more than $16 million. It could produce about $18.8 million between 2011 and 2015. About 250 property owners participate in the district, paying between $45 and $130,000 or so per year based on the value of their property and the length of the property line in front of their building.

City Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes downtown, believes most of these owners will support the renewal bid. The City Council will have to vote on the reauthorization.

"The people that we're looking for resources from, they're people who play long ball," he said. "They're not recent purchasers of property. I think the fact that they see what's happened in five short years makes them think that, in this economy, we have even more reason to do it."

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